Minnesota Wild General Discussion XIX

[Nino Noderreiter]

Trade Greenway, promote Rossi, and Gaudreau at 3rd line wing could help cap space and make sure the 3rd line continues to be strong defensively while chipping in offensively. I would actually prefer to trade Foligno as blasphemous as that sounds.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I am NOT in favor of more gimmicks. I hate gimmicks.

It's questionable as to whether it would even be a "gimmick" or not. It could just be an additional reward for finishing higher in the standings.

Imagine us and St. Louis duking it out for these final 5 or 6 games, not for home ice in a series, but the ability to avoid the other one altogether (at least for a round, if they so choose).

As long as it stays 4 rounds, 7 game series' and continuous 5v5 OT, I'm definitely open to other tweaks to make it more fun.

 

[TaLoN]

It's questionable as to whether it would even be a "gimmick" or not. It could just be an additional reward for finishing higher in the standings.

Imagine us and St. Louis duking it out for these final 5 or 6 games, not for home ice in a series, but the ability to avoid the other one altogether (at least for a round, if they so choose).

As long as it stays 4 rounds, 7 game series' and continuous 5v5 OT, I'm definitely open to other tweaks to make it more fun.

It looks like a gimmick to me.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

It looks like a gimmick to me.

Thus, questionable.

 

[AKL]

Thus, questionable.

Even if it is gimmicky, I can't see it as any more gimmicky than the current setup, and the current setup sucks for hockey, so it's worth a shot to do it another way.

If the West playoffs started right now:
1 vs 8
2 vs 6
3 vs 4
5 vs 7

And the East:
1 vs 8
3 vs 6
2 vs 5
4 vs 7

 

[TaLoN]

Even if it is gimmicky, I can't see it as any more gimmicky than the current setup, and the current setup sucks for hockey, so it's worth a shot to do it another way.

If the West playoffs started right now:
1 vs 8
2 vs 6
3 vs 4
5 vs 7

And the East:
1 vs 8
3 vs 6
2 vs 5
4 vs 7

The current setup has historical precident and tradition behind it that was abandoned when Gary Bettman took over as commish.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

One win away from our best season ever, points-wise.

One win away from our best season ever, wins-wise.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

I’m as big of a Rossi fan as there is, but I suddenly don’t see a surefire spot for him on this team next season. Gaudreau is a great defensive player who can skate and has hands/playmaking/and shot accuracy. Hartman is a 30O+ goal, 60+ point center, and Ek is a checking line center Locke duo for 7 more years. Where does Rossi slot in? I don’t want him on the wing. He sees the ice as a center

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I’m as big of a Rossi fan as there is, but I suddenly don’t see a surefire spot for him on this team next season. Gaudreau is a great defensive player who can skate and has hands/playmaking/and shot accuracy. Hartman is a 30O+ goal, 60+ point center, and Ek is a checking line center Locke duo for 7 more years. Where does Rossi slot in? I don’t want him on the wing. He sees the ice as a center

If they bring Fiala back, you let Rossi try and take Gaudreau’s spot. If he isn’t quite there yet, then you wait a year and then put him between Kaprizov and Hartman.

 

[ShortPeter6]

I’m as big of a Rossi fan as there is, but I suddenly don’t see a surefire spot for him on this team next season. Gaudreau is a great defensive player who can skate and has hands/playmaking/and shot accuracy. Hartman is a 30O+ goal, 60+ point center, and Ek is a checking line center Locke duo for 7 more years. Where does Rossi slot in? I don’t want him on the wing. He sees the ice as a center

Put Hartman on the wing to replace Zuc. Zuc may last next year but when we have to re up Boldy he is gone.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

The current setup has historical precident and tradition behind it that was abandoned when Gary Bettman took over as commish.

im not completely against this current format, i just think it is a fun idea. it would be even more interesting if you just did a top 16 teams in the league playoffs and the top 3 teams or 5 teams get to pick their first round opponent. it would change so much and make it extremely entertaining, heck id prob even watch a short little 30 min show on the selection process just out of curiousity.

 

[MNNumbers]

Concerning the playoff structure.....
The current schedule matrix is, for example for the Central Division:
2 vs all of the Eastern Conference.
3 vs all of the Pacific Division
4 vs 5 teams in the Central, and 3 vs the other 2 teams in the Central.

With this schedule matrix, the difference between the 2 divisions in each conference really is artificial. Everyone in the entire Western Conference is playing the same schedule except for 5 games.

Therefore, the playoffs should reflect that, and be a 1-8 seeded operation.

However, if the schedule changed to, for example:
2 games vs Eastern Conference and vs Pacific Division = 48
4 games vs Central = 28
6 games discretionary....
Then I would advocate for something more traditionally division-based.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

If they bring Fiala back, you let Rossi try and take Gaudreau’s spot. If he isn’t quite there yet, then you wait a year and then put him between Kaprizov and Hartman.

I don't get the feeling that Guerin and Evason are just going to "let" Rossi have Gaudreau's spot

 

[MuckOG]

The current setup has historical precident and tradition behind it that was abandoned when Gary Bettman took over as commish.

The current set-up was probably considered a gimmick when it was first implemented way back when.

I would rather see the traditional #1 vs #8 seeding, but teams choosing their opponents certainly makes for entertaining tv.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I don't get the feeling that Guerin and Evason are just going to "let" Rossi have Gaudreau's spot

No, you don’t hand it to him, but you give him an honest shot at competing for it.

 

[Webster]

Cool Guerin interview, he's a huge Star Wars fan.

He also tells us who on the current team he'd like to play with. Nope...it's not Kaprizov.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Cool Guerin interview, he's a huge Star Wars fan.

He also tells us who on the current team he'd like to play with. Nope...it's not Kaprizov.

His reasoning is because Zucc only likes to pass and he likes to shoot. Zucc is pass first almost to a fault.

 

[BagHead]

The current set-up was probably considered a gimmick when it was first implemented way back when.

I would rather see the traditional #1 vs #8 seeding, but teams choosing their opponents certainly makes for entertaining tv.

The more I think about the "choosing your opponent" method, the more I realize it may not be as exciting as it first sounds. Teams would probably pick the lowest possible team in the standings that they could. If they didn't do that and instead chose a team they thought they would play better against, the optics if they lost the series would not be good.

So, it might as well be a 1-8 standard seeding, at that point.

 

[57special]

I’m as big of a Rossi fan as there is, but I suddenly don’t see a surefire spot for him on this team next season. Gaudreau is a great defensive player who can skate and has hands/playmaking/and shot accuracy. Hartman is a 30O+ goal, 60+ point center, and Ek is a checking line center Locke duo for 7 more years. Where does Rossi slot in? I don’t want him on the wing. He sees the ice as a center

In my pretty extensive watching of him this year, Rossi looks skilled and smart, but has a couple of weaknesses that worry me because they are things that you can't do much about, namely;
- He is small, and of average strength, at best for an AHL player. He will get stronger, but he needs to get way stronger/more stabile to be an effective puck possessor(which is his game) in the NHL. I think that he should watch a lot of Zuccarello, as he has a similar build and game.
- His skating is good, but he lacks speed. Not slow, but just above average for an AHL'er. That's got to get better, or he will be limited as an offensive player.

I also think that he (and Addison) don't understand yet that it's not enough to play hard down in the AHL, but to play harder than everyone else. Guerin has hinted, or outright said that he needs to see more from both of them. This especially applies to Addison, and maybe Rossi is just tired after his first full season back after myocarditis, but until he improves his speed, strength(he can't get any bigger), and aggressiveness(not physicality, but getting after pucks rather than waiting), I don't see him as being a shoo in next year to be on the team.
Guys like Shaw, Dewar, and Rau play harder, and frankly, are just as effective, if not more. I get that we drafted him 9th oa, and want him to be a big time player... I'm sure LAK's feel the same way about Turcotte.

Maybe someone else who has watched thinks differently than me.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

In my pretty extensive watching of him this year, Rossi looks skilled and smart, but has a couple of weaknesses that worry me because they are things that you can't do much about, namely;
- He is small, and of average strength, at best for an AHL player. He will get stronger, but he needs to get way stronger to be an effective puck possessor(which is his game) in the NHL. I think that he should watch a lot of Zuccarello, as he has a similar build and game.
- His skating is good, but he lacks speed. Not slow, but just above average for an AHL'er. That's got to get better, or he will be limited as an offensive player.

I also think that he (and Addison) don't understand yet that it's not enough to play hard down in the AHL, but to play harder than everyone else. Guerin has hinted, or outright said that he needs to see more from both of them. This especially applies to Addison, and maybe Rossi is just tired after his first full season back after myocarditis, but until he improves his speed, strength(he can't get any bigger), and aggressiveness(not physicality, but getting after pucks rather than waiting), I don't see him as being a shoo in next year to be on the team.
Guys like Shaw and Rau play harder, and frankly, are just as effective, if not more. I get that we drafted him 9th oa, and want him to be a big time player... I'm sure LAK's feel the same way about Turcotte.

Maybe someone else who has watched thinks differently than me.

He has time, but if he doesn’t get stronger I think he ends up similar to Jost. Very skilled but limited by his size/speed combo

 

[57special]

He has time, but if he doesn’t get stronger I think he ends up similar to Jost. Very skilled but limited by his size/speed combo

That's a bit harsh - I am not a Jost fan. Rossi is already a better puck handler, passer and shooter, IMO. I think his IQ is better, too, but that remains to be seen. I was thinking more of Granlund, which is not that bad of an outcome.
As I said above, having him work with a player like Zuccarello might be just the thing for him, and a perfect role model. Same size, not the strongest or fastest, but worked his butt off to become a 1st line player in the NHL. The difference between him and Rossi is that the latter was a high first round draft pick, while Zucc was undrafted. Zucc HAD to work harder than everyone else just to get a sniff of the NHL. I hope Rossi is not making the mistake of thinking that he doesn't have to work just as hard.

I see a lot of similarities in their games, and back stories. Both come from countries that are non hockey powers, are the same size, and have similar skill sets. Lizard would have a lot to teach him, if he was willing to learn.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He has time, but if he doesn’t get stronger I think he ends up similar to Jost. Very skilled but limited by his size/speed combo

Or the center version of Jake Guentzel.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

Or the center version of Jake Guentzel.

fine by me

That's a bit harsh - I am not a Jost fan. Rossi is already a better puck handler, passer and shooter, IMO. I think his IQ is better, too, but that remains to be seen. I was thinking more of Granlund, which is not that bad of an outcome.
As I said above, having him work with a player like Zuccarello might be just the thing for him, and a perfect role model. Same size, not the strongest or fastest, but worked his butt off to become a 1st line player in the NHL. The difference between him and Rossi is that the latter was a high first round draft pick, while Zucc was undrafted. Zucc HAD to work harder than everyone else just to get a sniff of the NHL. I hope Rossi is not making the mistake of thinking that he doesn't have to work just as hard.

I see a lot of similarities in their games, and back stories. Both come from countries that are non hockey powers, are the same size, and have similar skill sets. Lizard would have a lot to teach him, if he was willing to learn.

I should rephrase. I think Rossi is a better player than Jost, but i think that the same things that limit Jost also limit Rossi

 

[P10p]

I see a lot of similarities in Granlund and Rossi. Hyped similarly as a prospect and similar strengths and weaknesses. This gives me hope because Granlund improved his strength and skating by leaps and bounds, he was constantly muscled off the puck/falling over when his career began. Hopefully Rossi will do the same as time passes.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

If our powerplay can keep up with how it was today, we might be able to do something. We should have a great powerplay with all our weapons. Maybe it’s finally gelling now that Fiala is on the top unit.